


One Steve Limit

by foolish_mortal



Series: fumu's tumblr ficlets [2]
Category: Sons of Liberty (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-26
Updated: 2015-02-26
Packaged: 2018-03-15 09:15:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3441677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foolish_mortal/pseuds/foolish_mortal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s an Adams tradition to name one son of each generation “John”, like John Adams, and his father, John Adams Sr. before him, but when John Hancock marries into the family, things get confusing fast.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Steve Limit

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Reccea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reccea/gifts).



It’s an Adams tradition to name one son of each generation “John”, like John Adams, and his father, John Adams Sr. before him, but when John Hancock marries into the family, things get confusing fast.

"Why do you insist on calling my child Quincy," John mutters. "He has a first name, you know."

"Yes, I know. How could I forget it?" Sam retorts. "But with you, my John, and Quince here, it’s hard to know who will answer when we call your name."

"Stop calling him Quince!" John demands. "My son is not a variety of jam!"

After John (Quince) comes Abigail, because Abigail is fiercely competitive and doesn’t see why women can’t have their own matrilineal traditions. Sam has named her “Nabby” before she’s even bundled into her mother’s arms, and by the time she’s started crawling, Abigail’s already answering to Nabby despite John’s best efforts.

But then after Susanna (Suky), Charles (Chucks), and Thomas (Tiny Tim), names which require no clarification whatsoever, and by two men who are not their parents besides, John gives up on lecturing his cousin about the importance of calling children by their names.

It’s enough that the Adams children have two uncles who dote on them shamelessly, happily shepherding them to the zoo or the park whenever John and Abigail need peace and quiet, even letting the whole brood spend nights at the sprawling Hancock family house when John is away on business and Abigail is working all hours on Capitol Hill.

"Mom," Suky wheedles over breakfast on Sunday with her best pathetic eyes. "Can Uncle John and Uncle Darling take us to the aquarium for my birthday next week?"

Abigail snaps her newspaper down. “Uncle who?”

"Uncle Darling," Suky says again, unperturbed. "Can they?"

"You call him Uncle Darling to his face," John says flatly, feeling a bubble of hysterical laughter rise into his chest.

Suky nods. “Nabby said that’s his name, because that’s what Uncle John calls him.”

Abigail is busy stuffing toast into her mouth to keep from laughing, so it’s John who has to get out of his chair and telephone the Hancock-Adams home at eight in the morning and wait for Sam to pick up. "Good morning, Uncle Darling," John says with no introduction, and Sam curses on the other end.

"Not you too," he bemoans. "It’s bad enough your children call me that in public within earshot of everyone in a five mile radius."

"You let them," John points out.

"No!" Sam protests. "Nabby just started for some reason, and she’s got everyone else doing it. I can’t make them stop!"

The sussurus of sheets like someone turning over in bed, and John's voice rises sleepily in the background,  _darling, who's on the phone?_ , and Sam makes a sound of pained dismay.

"How do you like the taste of that medicine?" John asks gleefully with all the sweetness of desserts justly served, and hangs up.

**Author's Note:**

> Because no one in the Adams family can manage to call each other [by their names](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abigail_Adams#Marriage_and_children), John and Abigail [not excepting.](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/adams/peopleevents/e_courtship.html) If you don’t think it’s utterly precious that John adressed his courting letters to Abigail as “Dear Adoreable” then get out, because you are lying.


End file.
